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In just over a decade, Olajide "KSI" has evolved from being just a YouTuber to becoming one of the biggest celebrities in the world. The British YouTuber first made waves in the YouTube world after his FIFA gameplay videos, most notably his Road to Division I series, went viral thanks to his humorous commentary and outspoken edgy personality.
Following his YouTube success, Knowledge released several rap songs that featured popular artists like Lil Wayne, Trippie Redd, and Rick Ross, which helped him chart in the UK and other countries. JJ's newfound fame as a rapper allowed him to appear in several films and television shows, including "Laid in America" and "Top Gear."
Most recently, KSI has become one of the most popular YouTuber-turned-boxers, holding a professional record of one win out of one bout. However, by being in front of the camera since his early teens, JJ has often faced severe criticism and backlash for his content from the early days.
Given his current stature, millions of impressionable young adults watch JJ's content, which often opens him up for more scrutiny.
Five times KSI's controversies caught the internet's attention
1) R*pe Jokes
A distasteful recurring 'joke' on his channel between 2012 and 2013, the r*pe face was one of the main reasons why Knowledge's rise to fame has faced some rather turbulent times. Due to how often JJ would make this face as a joke, many fans have called out the 29-year-old for trivializing s*xual assault.
However, most of these videos have since been scrubbed from JJ's main YouTube channel and he has on multiple occasions apologized for his past content.
2) Eurogamer Expo
The Prime co-founder found himself in massive controversy in 2012 when he visited the Eurogamer Expo at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. After the event, numerous female staff at the Expo alleged that KSI s*xually harassed them. This came on the back of Knowledge approaching women and asking them what STIs they were carrying.
On multiple occasions from the now-deleted video, JJ also passed sexist remarks and asked them other intrusive questions. Knowledge has since apologized for his behavior, citing 'I was such a virgin back then' after he was banned for life from future Eurogamer Expo events.
3) On Point
KSI released a diss track aimed at Logan Paul in August 2018 in the build-up to their highly anticipated boxing rematch. Initially, it looked like a standard JJ diss track that featured a Logan Paul lookalike. However, within the song, JJ chose to bring up Logan Paul's suicide forest controversy.
Filmed during the American's visit to Japan in 2018, Paul filmed and later uploaded a video with a hanging body visible in it. Due to solely focusing on the 'Tokyo Incident', JJ found himself on the receiving end of a lot of backlash for joking about suicide in order to promote a fight.
4) Using queerphobic slurs
KSI found himself navigating through rough waters in March 2021 when he 'accidentally' used a queerphobic slur in one of his tweets. In a now-deleted Sidemen video, Knowledge misgendered a transwoman aside from his known history of using queerphobic slurs in the past.
While issuing his apology, JJ in a now-deleted tweet stated that he didn't mean to misgender them and that he was taken aback by the beard before concluding
"And I honestly didn’t even know that t****y was a bad word. What’s the correct term to use?”
This was followed by another now-deleted tweet that stated,
“My bad for saying t****y and other transgender slurs. Honestly didn’t even know they were slurs. I know now though. Mans educating himself haha.”
5) JJ uses the racial slur P*ki
The most recent KSI controversy that caught the internet's attention featured the Nightmare using the racial slur p*ki in a now-deleted Sidemen video while the other members could be seen laughing.
During a segment in the highly anticipated parody video of the Countdown, KSI nonchalantly used the racial slur which led to a lot of backlash on social media. The negativity and hate got to KSI so much that he ultimately decided to take a break from social media and was even spotted at a mosque and a gurdwara trying to learn more about the cultures he had just offended.
